


The Dating Game

by cindyginthedia



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Minor Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Lee Sangyeon, Romantic Comedy, bassist juyeon, chanhee visual arts major, drummer eric, guitarist haknyeon, minor chanhee/hynjae, minor chanhee/kevin, minor chanhee/sunwoo, relationship drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26766217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cindyginthedia/pseuds/cindyginthedia
Summary: “Why’s everyone so worried about me? What did I do?” Chanhee exasperates.“Exist,” Jacob reasons. “Your purpose in life is to love and be loved. You draw hearts on your cheeks for god’s sake!”The gang decides that Choi Chanhee needs a boyfriend. So, they each take turns playing matchmaker.
Relationships: Choi Chanhee | New/Kim Younghoon
Comments: 9
Kudos: 107





	The Dating Game

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published fic! It blossomed from me thinking Chanhee deserves to love and be loved by a special someone. So I made it happen! 
> 
> The title is in reference to the 1965 television show entitled "The Dating Game." 
> 
> Enjoy!

Sangyeon and Jacob are teasing Changmin as per usual, all giggling to pass the time as they stroll down the main campus road to the cafeteria. Chanhee and Younghoon watch on the sidelines, both holding amused smiles. Altogether, they make up the wildest group of boys on the campus. Or at least, that’s what they tell themselves. 

“Hey, Chanhee?” Younghoon asks, turning away from the other rambunctious three. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Chanhee is too stunned to answer immediately, and doesn’t get the chance to answer anyway because Jacob and Sangyeon decide to butt in.

“Yeah, hotshot.” Jacob starts his (playful) taunting. “Why don’t you?”

“You’ve got the best ass,” Sangyeon comments with a pat on his rear. Changmin walks over and throws his arm around Chanhee’s shoulders; he’s finally able to participate in the teasing rather than being the one on the receiving end of it. 

“We should get you a boyfriend, Channie. It’s only the least we can do.” Changmin turns to the quad at the entrance of the cafeteria. “Hey!” He shouts, “Anybody looking for a boyfriend? We got this juicy piece of—” Chanhee clamps his hand around Changmin’s mouth. The rest of the boys wrestle to free Changmin but with little success. 

“We’ll find you a good one,” Jacob promises. The others nod and holler in agreement. 

“You deserve some extra love right now,” Sangyeon adds, opening up the cafeteria door for everyone to file in. 

“I agree,” Younghoon mumbles, giddy about their new collective mission.

⚀⚁⚂ 

“So…” Chanhee begins, sitting down at their newly acquired lunch table. “Why are you guys so adamant about finding me a boyfriend? What about the rest of you?”  
“Oh! I’ve already found a potential partner,” Jacob answers, leaning back in his chair.

“Hey! Me too!” Sangyeon and Jacob high-five at their newfound commonality. Chanhee looks at Younghoon and Changmin, raising his eyebrows in expectation. 

Changmin is the first to speak. “We’re focusing on you first. Then, maybe, me. But I’m not really worried about myself.” He takes a sip of his milk. “Besides, I’m not the one who downloaded Grindr.” Chanhee glares at the mischievous boy, clearly leaking information that was supposed to be top secret. The other boys snicker in the background. 

“Younghoon?” Chanhee questions. “You’re the last one to answer. What do you have to say for yourself?” He places his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his hands. 

“Well,” Younghoon takes a moment to think, tilting his head. “I’m not looking right now.”

“Neither am I!” Chanhee spurts. 

“Grindr~” Changmin sing-songs, receiving a slap on his arm from Chanhee. 

“Like Changmin said,” Younghoon continues. “We’re worried about you right now. The rest of us can come later.” 

“Why’s everyone so worried about me? What did I do?” Chanhee exasperates. 

“Exist,” Jacob reasons. “Your purpose in life is to love and be loved. You draw hearts on your cheeks for god’s sake!” Chanhee does, in fact, draw little hearts just below his eyes with eyeliner whether he wears a full face of makeup or not. It’s his signature look. 

“I like them,” Younghoon beams from his mouthful of pasta. Chanhee whispers a “thank you” in response. 

The boys finish up eating and plan to meet up that night to start the boyfriend search.

⚀⚁⚂ 

“I really don’t get why y’all are so invested in this,” Chanhee mutters from the kitchen table. He’s getting his work done while the other boys huddle around the coffee table to discuss potential targets. “No one is asking if I even want a boyfriend.” The boys pause their bickering to stare back at the brunette.

“We all know the answer to that question, sweetie.” Sangyeon dismisses all doubts with a wave of his hand. “You like quiet guys, right?” 

“No! I think he should have someone adventurous,” Changmin butts in. 

“An artsy guy for an artsy guy is my bet,” weighs in Jacob. 

“I just want him to be good for Chanhee.” Younghoon smiles and the other boys nod in agreement. They all turn back to their phones and laptops, getting the scoop on the hottest gay bachelors on campus. 

Chanhee decides to let it go for the time being, as he has more pressing matters at hand. The current one being his art history reading that he can’t seem to get done no matter how much he stares at page 85. 

Meanwhile, Jacob comes up with a fool-proof strategy, which he titles “The Boyfriend Plan”. Jacob, Sangyeon, and Changmin will each target an individual bachelor and set him up on a date with Chanhee, one at a time. Younghoon will take the job of support for Chanhee, as per usual.

⚀⚁⚂ 

Sangyeon finds bachelor number one: a sweet, shy boy named Hyunjae. He shares a class with Sangyeon on Wednesdays, so Sangyeon slips him a note to go to a nearby coffee shop for a blind date. Hyunjae nods back at Sangyeon once he’s read the note. The instigator throws two thumbs up in response. He also texts Chanhee to meet him at the same coffee shop after his class.

Chanhee receives the text as he exits his last class for the day. Though this doesn’t seem like out of the ordinary behavior for Sangyeon, he’s still a bit worried that this has something to do with the “The Boyfriend Plan,” as he remembers Jacob affectionately calling it. Sangyeon and Younghoon agreed to find a better name ASAP. Nonetheless, Chanhee sends back a ‘yeah, sure’ and heads in the direction of the coffee shop. He can stop by the library first to pick up some books since Sangyeon’s class lasts a half-hour longer than his. 

After opening the door, Chanhee immediately gathers that Sangyeon is not alone. Next to him is a tall boy with a black beret atop his curly blonde hair. He looks soft, warm, and undoubtedly cute. Still, Chanhee approaches cautiously.

“Hi, Sangyeon! I wasn’t expecting company.”

“That would ruin the surprise,” Sangyeon replies coyly. He turns to the man on his right. “This is Hyunjae. Hyunjae, Chanhee. We have economics together, I thought you’d like to meet him.” 

“I definitely want to meet you,” Hyunjae confesses. “I loved your pieces in the art show last year.” 

“Oh!” Chanhee waves him off. “That's… thank you, I didn’t know people went to those.” 

“I don’t normally but—”

“WELP,” Sangyeon interrupts, “Seems like you two are getting along so I’m just gonna—” he points his finger guns to the door, “— go.” He leaves with a wave and a final “You two have fun!” 

Chanhee turns to his date. He might as well make the most of it. “Would you like to order something?” 

Hyunjae nods wordlessly and they walk together to join the line. They stand somewhat awkwardly waiting for the next two people to order.  
“Do you like coffee?” Hyunjae asks. He’s pulling at his own sleeve, probably nervous. 

“How much did Sangyeon pay you?” Chanhee counters with another question. This makes Hyunjae beet red. 

“No, I —” He gathers himself. “There was no deal, just the promise of meeting someone new." He lets out an airy chuckle. "I don’t get out much.”  
“Oh. Well, I do like coffee.” The brunette isn’t dreading the next hour, but he’s still going to beat the living daylights out of Sangyeon next time he sees him. Chanhee does not like surprises. 

The two get along well, talking more about Chanhee’s art and Hyunjae’s boring accounting major. Hyunjae is definitely on the shier side, but it’s oddly endearing. They finish up their drinks and the date ends with a wave and a short farewell from both sides.

⚀⚁⚂ 

Chanhee decides to stay. He texts Younghoon to come meet him so he can tell him all about what just happened. The reliable man shows up in under ten minutes and orders the pair of them two iced coffees. He slides into the chair opposite Chanhee.

“I’m dreadfully curious. What happened that you had to text me to come here immediately?” Younghoon asks. 

“The first part of “The Boyfriend Plan” was enacted by Sangyeon today.” Chanhee sighs.

“No way! He didn’t tell us!” Younghoon’s eyes go wide. “Oh, also, we didn’t tell you…” He leans in closer to generate anticipation. “We changed the name to “Finding Chanhee’s B.” You know, boyfriend, boo, beau; it’s cute and it rhymes.” Younghoon says with a wink. 

“I’m not sure which one is worse.” Chanhee rolls his eyes, conveniently noticing that the drinks are ready. 

“I got it!” Younghoon apparently noticed, too. “For you,” He says as he slides one across the table. “Anyway.” He takes his first sip. “Where were we?” 

“I was gonna tell you about the date.”

“Yes! Do tell!”

The two get comfortable in their seats, knowing Chanhee won’t leave a single detail out for Younghoon. It’s tradition. 

Chanhee explains the date, ending with these last remarks: “He’s a nice boy, really shy. Just not my type, I don’t think. I’m not interested?” He sounds unsure.  
“You’ll know when you know. I trust your instincts,” Younghoon says with his straw still between his teeth. A habit. “Glad the date wasn’t bad at least! Now come on, I drove here, so let me take you home.”

⚀⚁⚂ 

Some days pass and Chanhee hopes that the boys have forgotten about “Finding Chanhee’s B,” but he finds out that he’s sorely mistaken when Changmin barges into his room on a Friday afternoon.

“You wanna see a band tonight?” Changmin asks as he plops himself on Chanhee’s bed. 

“Do I have much of a choice?”

“That’s the spirit!”

Chanhee rolls his eyes and heads to his closet. “Who are we seeing?” 

“The Moonlight Chasers. They’re a newer group, I found them on Facebook.”

“That’s reassuring,” Chanhee says from the closet. Changmin moves to join him, grabbing a silk green shirt.

“This one’s sexy. Wear it!!” Chanhee snatches it from Changmin’s hands. 

“It’s not a date, Minnie!” He counters. 

“Oh,” Changmin raises his eyebrows for effect, “But it is.” A smirk spreads across his face only for it to be met with a groan. 

“No, not again! Can I at least know who it is I’m meeting first?” Chanhee throws the shirt on the bed and looks for pants to match. If he is going on a date, he might as well look hot. 

“Don’t worry, the date won’t be ‘till after the concert. Because it’s with the lead singer~”

⚀⚁⚂ 

Changmin, dressed in a white button-up with a leather jacket and slacks, and Chanhee, with his silk green shirt and wide dark-blue trousers, pull up to a dive bar on the east side of town. The place is filled to the brim, which makes Chanhee wonder how new this band really is if they’re able to draw a crowd of this size . Changmin tugs Chanhee into the center of the crowd; he manages to see over the many heads that there’s a keyboard, guitar, bass, and drums set up on the stage just as the lights dim and fog flows down the stage.

The first notes come from the bassist, who appears with a bright spotlight on him. He’s wearing leather pants, not unlike Changmin’s, and a flowy white shirt. He’s ripping up the bass part. 

“That’s Juyeon!!” Changmin shouts in Chanhee’s ear, who flinches. 

“Is he…?” 

“Nope, not him!” 

Next the spotlight moves to the drummer, who immediately attacks the drums once he’s visible. Not much of his outfit can be seen behind the drum set but he has blond hair with killer teal tips. He does have a mic near him so it could be… 

“Nope! Not Eric either!” 

The spotlight veers abruptly to the guitarist clad in a black sweater and white pants. Chanhee can’t lie, he looks good with the red electric guitar on him. 

“He’s Haknyeon, my favorite. Lastly is...” The keyboardist. Strolling in with a mic in his hands, he takes a seat at his keyboard and places the mic on the mic stand set up in front of him. Dressed in black from head-to-toe, he tips up his wide brimmed hat to the audience to smile, then he plays. 

“He…” Chanhee turns to Changmin, “You’re telling me you set me up with him?!” he yells over the noise in shock. 

“Yeah, I did.” Changmin wiggles his eyebrows, proud of his choice for bachelor number two. “His name’s Kevin, you can start dreaming up fantasies now.” Changmin gets a slap on the arm for that unnecessary comment. 

If his looks weren’t enough, when Kevin opens his mouth to sing Chanhee is sold. He’s actually looking forward to this date. 

When they play their last encore, Changmin leads Chanhee to the backstage entrance, where he says a “magic word” to the guard in order to enter. It’s not glamorous, definitely not fit for a proper date. They intercept the band descending the stage. 

“Hey guys!” Changmin hollars a little too enthusiastically. 

“Changmin?” Kevin asks. He glances over at Chanhee. 

“Yeah! And this is Chanhee!” Changmin shoves Chanhee in front of him. “See you later!” He’s already exiting the same way he came. “Or maybe not!” 

Chanhee curses Changmin under his breath. He’ll give him another arm slap when he gets the chance.

Now it’s just Chanhee and Kevin in the hallway. “Hi there, I’m Kevin.” He reaches out his hand. Chanhee takes it in a graceful handshake. 

“Chanhee. What do you know?” 

“I know your friend wants you to have a boyfriend. And I know I’d like to take a midnight stroll with a pretty boy tonight.” Chanhee blushes at his forwardness, but nonetheless manages to maintain eye-contact. 

“Where would we be going?” He asks. 

“You okay with surprises?” 

“No,” Chanhee replies curtly. 

Kevin raises his eyebrows. “Respect. There’s a garden that has colorful lights at night. Does that sound nice?”

Chanhee nods, taking Kevin’s offered hand and allowing himself to be led to the car waiting for them outside. The car ride is short, but his racing heartbeat makes it seem far longer. 

“Here we are,” Kevin steps out of the car and gestures to the intricate garden laid out before them. 

“I’ve never been here before. I didn’t even know it existed.” 

“No? Good. Kindly take my arm,” Chanhee does, “and I’ll show you around.” 

The garden is nothing short of magical. Bushes are lit up with all different colors of the rainbow, flowers are spotlighted to show off their natural hues, and pathways are lined with color-changing orbs that reflect off the pebbles. The pair doesn’t talk much, but it’s surprisingly comfortable for a first date. Kevin leads Chanhee to a bench inside the gazebo in the middle of the garden. 

“So,” Kevin breaks the silence, “How is it?”

Chanhee smiles widely. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“Oh, stop!” Chanhee hits his knee laughing. That was way too cheesy to handle. Kevin laughs along. 

“I mean it, though. You’re very pretty. I can only cross my fingers that your personality is just as beautiful.” Kevin actually crosses both his fingers and holds them up for Chanhee to see. 

“I… well… I don’t know, I guess that's for you to find out.” Chanhee finds himself grateful for the low light hiding his blush. 

The musician reaches his hand out and gingerly glides it along Chanhee’s cheek. He slowly leans in and— 

“Wait, no! No,” Chanhee stands abruptly. “I’m sorry but I can’t. That’s too fast for me,” He raises his hands, waving them madly while looking at the ground. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry to make you uncomfortable.” Kevin pauses. “I shouldn’t have assumed you wanted to kiss me, too.” 

Chanhee wraps his arms around himself, still staring at the ground. 

“Let me take you home,” Kevin offers, heading to the car. Chanhee stops him with one arm on his shoulder and presses a kiss to his cheek. 

“Yes, I’d like to go home, now. Thank you.” 

The car ride home is still pleasant; the pair’s hands are loosely tangled in between them.

⚀⚁⚂ 

As soon as Chanhee steps through his door, he’s calling Younghoon. He’s gotta tell someone about this whole fiasco.

_“Hello?”_

“Younghoon? Were you asleep? I need to talk to you.”

_“Well, good thing I picked up.”_ Younghoon’s voice is rough through the phone, but Chanhee is grateful for his reliability. 

“Changmin was the next culprit in the Boyfriend Boo Plan, or whatever it’s called now. You’ll never guess who he set me up with.” Chanhee took off his shoes and is heading for his bedroom to flop onto the bed. 

_“I doubt I could guess. So just tell me.”_

“A musician! Can you believe it? Changmin dragged me all the way across town to watch a concert then meet the band after. I went on a date with the lead singer, a drop-dead gorgeous boy with a honey-sweet voice.” He’s almost drooling remembering how Kevin looked onstage. 

_“When did the date happen?”_ Younghoon asks, confused. 

“Oh!” Chanhee is getting ahead of himself. “It happened right after the concert, we went to a garden.” He recounts the rest of the date until the part he really needed to talk about with Younghoon. “Then, well…”

_“Chanhee, you’re scaring me. What happened?”_

“He tried to kiss me.” 

_“Tried? Did he chicken-out?”_

“No, I pushed him away. It didn’t feel right. But I kissed his cheek to try and make up for it. Am I a bad person?” 

_“No, definitely not! If it didn’t feel right then it didn’t feel right. Your gut is very trustworthy. You don’t have to kiss anyone you don’t want to, Chanhee,”_ Younghoon affirms, which makes Chanhee’s chest warm. 

“Thanks, Younghoon. I needed that.” 

_“So I’m guessing he’s not the one?”_

“No,” Chanhee concludes. “He was very cool and very pretty, but I don’t think he’s the right fit for me.” 

_“You’ll know when you’ve found the right one. I’m 100% sure of it.”_

“You’re the best. I’ll let you get back to sleep now. I should do the same.” 

_“Goodnight, Chanhee.”_

“Goodnight, Younghoon.”

⚀⚁⚂ 

A couple days pass and the boys are all together again on a lazy Wednesday afternoon. Jacob is sprawled across the couch with Sangyeon squished under his legs. Changmin is raiding the fridge, and Younghoon and Chanhee are playing phone games at the dining table.

“Hey!” Jacob sits up abruptly, much to Sangyeon’s relief. “Why don’t we go to the skate park?” He winks at Sangyeon and Younghoon, which Chanhee catches easily. 

“No.” Chanhee speaks up. “No, no, no. If this is about what I think this is about, hell no.” 

Jacob’s bottom lip juts out. “But, I wanted to try a new trick on the half-pipe!” He whines. 

“Since when do you skateboard?” Sangyeon mutters. Jacob gives him a sharp jab with his elbow. 

“Since you learned to shut your mouth,” Jacob mutters back. “I did a lot in high school!” He says louder to the rest of them. Changmin came back from the kitchen with a Capri-Sun and a fruit roll-up. “I’ve just taken it up again, so I wanna gain my skills back sooner than later. Will you guys please come watch me?” 

“I’m down!” Changmin chimes in, fruit roll-up hanging from his tongue. Younghoon shrugs. Jacob doesn’t wait for any more answers before he’s grabbing his keys, certain that the rest will follow.

⚀⚁⚂ 

The skatepark isn’t too crowded — it is a Wednesday after all. Of course, Jacob is waving someone over as soon as they enter through the gate. Chanhee knew this had something to do with “Finding Chanhee’s B”. This must be bachelor number three.

“Hey! Glad I caught you here!” Jacob says through a sickly-sweet grin, like this wasn’t all pre-planned. He turns to the group, “Guys, this is my friend Sunwoo! Sunwoo, these are the guys!”

They exchange ‘hello’s and walk together to a bench on the opposite side of the park. Sunwoo sits right next to Chanhee. 

“Hey,” Sunwoo greets with his arm outstretched. Chanhee meets him with a handshake and a small smile. 

“Hi.” 

“Do you skate?” 

“No.” Chanhee glances around the place. Jacob is helping Sangyeon stay balanced on his board, but it’s not looking promising. It reminds him of when the gang went ice skating last December, and Sangyeon fell about fifteen times. “Well, unless you count ice skating. I’m pretty okay at that.” 

“That’s cool!” Sunwoo bounces in his seat, his auburn hair falling in his eyes. “I mainly skateboard, but ice skating is fun sometimes.” 

Chanhee smiles at the absurdity of it all. He just knows Jacob set this whole thing up, he’s only waiting for the truth to come out. 

“Wait! Stay right there,” Sunwoo blurts, making Chanhee snap his head to him. Sunwoo runs to a backpack down the way and pulls out a considerably impressive camera and trots back over to the bench. “Your smile is nice. Can I snap a few photos?” 

“Of me?” He’s in disbelief. This was not how he expected this conversation to go. “I guess so.” 

Sunwoo smiles at his answer, which makes Chanhee smile, too, and the shutter is heard not long after. 

“You’re a natural,” Sunwoo mentions after only a couple photos are taken. “You wanna do a shoot sometime?” Just then, Jacob reappears in front of the two. 

“You could do a shoot right now!” He suggests. “Chanhee doesn’t have much to do since he doesn’t skate.” 

“Except ice skating!” Sunwoo interjects, making Chanhee laugh. Sunwoo turns to the giggling boy. “I’d love to, if you’re willing.” He’s looking with unmerciful puppy-eyes. Luckily, Chanhee was going to say yes anyway. 

“Sure.”

“Great!” Jacob and Sunwoo exclaim at the same time. That’s the nail in the coffin. Jacob definitely had this whole encounter planned.

⚀⚁⚂ 

“I was thinking we could use the area around the skatepark,” Sunwoo elaborates as they walk along the metal fencing. “The trees, the river, maybe use the skatepark as a background for some.”

“How long have you been into photography?” Chanhee asks. 

“Longer than I’ve been into skateboarding. It’s my major, you know? Though I might double major with cinematography, too. What are you majoring in?” 

“Visual arts.”

“Two artsy dudes,” Sunwoo laughs at his own words, but it reminds Chanhee of what Jacob had said a couple weeks ago. ‘An artsy guy for an artsy guy,’ he had said. Yet another nail in the coffin. But Chanhee can’t say he’s not enjoying himself at least. 

“Can you climb?” Sunwoo interrupts Chanhee’s thoughts. “Like, this tree branch right here?” He follows Sunwoo’s pointed finger to a low-hanging branch of an oak tree. 

“Yeah, I think so.” Chanhee succeeds in jumping up and sitting on the branch, and the photoshoot commences. Chanhee is a natural, whether he’d like to admit it or not. He’s always liked photography but trusted his drawing more to make a living. This is a nice change. 

“Let me help you,” Sunwoo offers his hand to aid Chanhee in getting off the branch. He takes it and sticks the landing. Sunwoo doesn’t let go. 

So they stroll, hand-in-hand, to the next spot by the river this time. The sunset reflects off the water in a picture-perfect way. Sunwoo lets go of Chanhee’s hand in order to get a better shot of Chanhee in the glowing light. He cracks a couple jokes to get Chanhee laughing. 

“Your smile is one of your best features,” He explains, which makes Chanhee smile even wider. Sunwoo takes his hand again when they head back to the park. “This was fun.”

“Yeah, it was.” 

“You wanna do this again sometime?” 

Now, Chanhee has an important decision to make. Give in to Jacob’s plan and offer his number, or resist out of spite. He did enjoy his time with Sunwoo, so he’s not against spending more time with him, but his gut is still a bit unsure. 

Younghoon comes to the rescue, slinging his arm around Chanhee. “Did you have fun? You looked cool hanging off the tree over there.” 

“You saw that?” Chanhee is embarrassed to say the least. He didn’t think anyone was watching them. 

Jacob answers this time. “Yeah, we did! You looked great! Sunwoo, when will you have those pictures developed?”

“Hopefully before my final project is due,” He responds, chuckling. “Well,” He turns to Chanhee again. “If you want to do this again, tell Jacob and he can come find me. It was lovely meeting you.” Sunwoo reaches over and squeezes Chanhee’s hand, then bids the rest of the group farewell. 

“So, how was he?” Jacob immediately bombards Chanhee. 

“Fine, nice, he’s a cool guy.”

“Hot, too!” Sangyeon adds. 

“Okay, okay,” Jacob throws his hands up. “That’s enough. You can tell us more when we get home.”

⚀⚁⚂ 

The gang pack up and get back to the dorms in record time. But on the way over, Changmin realizes he has a test he forgot about and Sangyeon and Jacob get into a heated argument over Pokemon Go’s relevance, so only Younghoon is left to hear all about Chanhee’s ‘impromptu’ photoshoot/date. Good thing that that’s exactly what Chanhee wanted.

“So,” Younghoon starts, “How was your third date?” He’s in a ‘listening ready’ position, resting his chin in his hands and staring right up at Chanhee. 

“Well, he’s also a nice guy, and pretty cool. If you couldn’t tell, he’s into photography, which I really liked. We held hands, that was nice.” 

“I can tell you’re hesitant. What’s your gut saying?” 

Chanhee thought for a moment. “That it would be a good time, not a long time.” 

“Is that what you want?” 

“No.” 

“Well, there you have it,” Younghoon states. “He’s not the right fit either. That’s too bad. They always say the third time’s the charm.” He sighs. “Jacob was so adamant about this guy too, but I guess we’ll have to keep looking. I say we include you next time, though. Your gut is never wrong.” 

Chanhee can’t help but feel comforted by Younghoon’s words. He always does that; he makes Chanhee feel warm, safe, and loved. He’s right, too. Chanhee’s gut is never wrong. Never… 

“Younghoon?”

“Hm?” 

“What would you do if I kissed you right now?”

“I dunno, kiss you back,” Younghoon starts to laugh but is cut off by Chanhee’s lips. When they separate, Younghoon clarifies. “I didn’t think you were being serious!” 

Chanhee looks into Younghoon’s wide eyes in a moment of panic. “I’m sorry, it’s just that you said my gut is never wrong and that’s what my gut told me to do so I did it and I’m so—” 

This time Chanhee is cut off by Younghoon’s lips. “Yeah, your gut is never wrong.” 

“Ew!” Jacob blurts from the bedroom doorway. “Get a room!” Chanhee and Younghoon laugh, and Sangyeon joins in from behind Jacob. 

“Don’t be such a hypocrite.” Sangyeon pokes Jacob, who turns and plants one on the instigator himself. 

“Woah, wait a minute!” Changmin yells from the other side of the room, clearly having been on his way to grab a snack from the kitchen. “Since when were you two together?!”

“Since we found out we were each other’s potential partners,” Sangyeon grins, wrapping his arms around Jacob from behind.  
Changmin looks over to the two on the couch, their hands intertwined. “Okay, that must have happened just now. So, I’m the only single one in the group, now?” 

“What about that guitarist?” Chanhee speaks up while Younghoon plants a kiss on his forehead just because he can. “Haknyeon, right?” 

Changmin blushes at the thought. “Oh, yeah. He did say he has another gig Saturday night.” 

“Okay, guys!” Jacob clasps his hands together. “New plan! Operation: Get Changmin a Guitarist Boyfriend!” 

“We’ll work on the name,” Younghoon whispers in Chanhee’s ear. Chanhee giggles in response, and kisses him again.

⚀⚁⚂ 

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to leave your impressions, reactions, comments, critiques, anything below!  
> Thanks for reading <3


End file.
